1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to dispensing and delivery systems for beverages and other products. More specifically, the disclosure relates to dispensing and delivery systems for providing an additive, such as flavoring or supplements, to a base liquid, such as water, as the base liquid is dispensed from a container. The disclosure also relates to containers for containing and storing an additive to be used in additive delivery systems.
2. Prior Art
The prior art includes various devices for providing additives to a base liquid. Such devices include pre-mix systems, such as those exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 7,306,117, in which a predetermined amount of additive is dispensed into a base liquid within the container and mixed therewith prior to consumption.
Prior art systems also include additive delivery systems in which an additive is dispensed as a base fluid is dispensed from a container. Such delivery systems are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 8,230,777, which describes a dispensing system in which a base liquid flows through a supplement area containing solid supplements, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,413,844, which describes a water dispenser (pitcher) having a filter and an additive chamber in which the additive is dispensed as water is poured from the dispenser.
Such prior art systems, however, suffer from the drawbacks of requiring rather elaborate and relatively expensive dispensing systems and fail to combine filtration and additive delivery functionality in a manner that is readily adapted to portable, compact, portable containers, such as sports bottles. There is thus a need for additive delivery systems and additive containers that are readily adaptable to portable base liquid containers and which address the aforementioned and other needs in the art.